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Whom Are You Fighting For & Why Are You Fighting For Them?

Chris Colt

?? Founder- $2M+ Results Delivered | Helping Service-Based Businesses Transform Client Acquisition Using Gamified Challenges & Transformative Workshops | Husband + Father + Avid Cyclist??

发布日期: 2022年5月7日

There I was facing the biggest obstacle ever in life. One that deep down, I was afraid of and never would have chosen this path in a million years. However, a few risks went the wrong way and I was then walking into my biggest fear in life.

Being an endurance cyclist, I knew the only way out was to pedal through what was in front of me. I had to use this chapter of life as fuel to come out the other side stronger, and I knew it was going to take asking for help.

Not only was this humbling but the responses were shocking!

As I began to ask for help from others whom I helped have success throughout their careers. I was shocked at the responses of silence. And it all clicked, I was aligned with those who only wanted to be around people in their winning season.

And this time in my life was by far a winning season.... or as I will say now.. it was the biggest winning season of life without the material results!

If there is anything racing 100-mile mountain bike races taught me. It's that winning seasons are short, and you need a community (peloton in cycling terms) to bring you through those months or seasons you are off your game.

Any champion looks at failure as a learning experience. It's not what defines us as a person, it's what drives us to be a better person.

As time progressed, I knew there were true mentors in life who would not turn their backs on me. And it only took that first call to an amazing mentor of mine who shifted it all for me. I shared all that was going on and held nothing back.

He laughed at me!!!!

Then told me this was great that it was happening to me.

As he was laughing, I was ready to break down in tears. I was shocked he would find this funny. However, I knew he cared about me and I asked him, how he could say this was great.

And his question to me was the one that changed my life!

He said:

"Chris, have you ever asked yourself this question. Whom Are You Fighting For & Why Are You Fighting For Them?"

And I simply responded with:

"Of course, it's my family, why do you ask such a question like that?"

He began to share a very personal story of his life. And how a mentor of his asked the same question to him. And it was at that moment that my mentor realized his mission in life.

It was to guide former professional athletes to build thriving businesses when they retire, which provides opportunities for other professional athletes who are lost when their athletic career ends.

Why was this important to him?

Because he was a former professional athlete who faced his own challenges when he retired from sports. He was completely lost in how to function in the business world and everyday life. And he made it his mission to help others facing the same situation thrive when they retire from their athletic career.

WOW!

So he asked me again to answer his question, and explained what I share will evolve over time but that I needed to give this serious thought. And he asked me to take the rest of the day, and go for a long bike ride and ponder his question.

And it was during this ride, I was able to come up with a starting point answer that has evolved substantially since first being asked this:

I am fighting for those who feel left behind because life tossed them a curveball. Who take risks in life and experience their worse fears. And realize they have to start completely over. Because what they built as a foundation over the years did not have strong pillars. That their rebuild will be where their story comes to life and inspires others to become part of their journey. Those who have no fear in sharing what they went through. Because they know there are millions of others who face the same situation. That need to hear the true story of overcoming a life challenge and using it to fuel your mission in life.

That was my answer to him after some deeper reflection on the question.

Since then it has evolved substantially and will share more on that in a future newsletter. The great thing is now, I continually ask myself this question every year. Because it continually evolves. And whenever I work with subject matter experts, it is one of the first questions that I ask them.

This allows me to determine if they will fight for those they are fighting for!

If I know they will, they are the ideal client to work with.

Over the last few months, I have done many different LinkedIn lives with different subject matter experts. I ask this question as it really gets them fired up in the conversation.

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Take for example the last LinkedIn Live I did with Gina Bianchini the CEO of Mighty Networks.

(You can hit the photo to hear the replay)

When I asked her this question she responded with.

"I believe that community is the single most powerful resource in the world. For helping each and every one of us achieve our goals, and live the life that we didn't think was possible.

When I think about whom I'm fighting for, it is truly enabling community to be available for members. So people who join communities, get to master something interesting or important together, and ultimately achieve results and transformation in their lives that they didn't think was possible. And in order to do that, I have to fight for the ability of people to host a community.

So there are members of communities, and then there's the host of communities. I believe that community today is easier to create than most people think. So I am fighting for anyone to be able to create a community that gets more valuable to every member with each new person who joins and contributes. Which allows our hosts to feel like they have superpowers in terms of making those connections between people.

Ultimately, I would say, my enemy is very clear, which is the content conveyor belt, and content factory that has really taken over social media. And that is great for companies, however, is taking, us away from the connections that we can make in a community, the ability for us to master something interesting or important together. And ultimately, the things that whether you look at neuroscience, psychology, sociology, anthropology, or you just kind of know it for your own life, which is community matters, and that we are making connections between people, as opposed to consuming content that is being created for just about everybody. Those are very different things. And one is community one is not!

I am fighting for making those connections and communities that bring people together such that they can build real relationships with real human beings, making that so easy and so automated, that we unlock an entirely new definition of online social experiences."

It's obvious Gina has answered this question before... but WOW!